Pride
by Chio Saki
Summary: An advice can sometimes help or harm, but is it truly wise to ignore it altogether? A platonic, extended take on the sole interaction between Kaworu and Asuka from the NGE manga.


**A/N:**

_(Fear not, those who are patiently waiting on a new chapter from my multi-chapter story. I have not abandoned it - I am merely writing this to freshen up my mind a little between updates!)_

As I previously mentioned, I've been planning on experimenting a little with both Asuka and Kaworu for longer than I remember, probably ever since I read the NGE manga as a teen and witnessed their short and yet terribly chaotic restroom interaction.

That same short interaction, however, left me wondering;

What if Kaworu met Asuka on a slightly better day? What if his words didn't force her into a corner as they did, and what if Asuka wasn't under such immense pressure, coupled with her accumulated insecurities and period on top of it all?

Kaworu was only curious and interested in the fragility of humans and especially in conversing with another pilot, so with that in mind, I figured I'd try placing them under slightly more amicable circumstances without potentially harming the plot and all that followed after their exchange in the manga.

I hope you enjoy this short oneshot! ^_^

**Disclaimer: I do not own Neon Genesis Evangelion nor its characters! All rights belong to Hideaki Anno and Yoshiyuki Sadamoto**

* * *

**Pride**

"That's enough, Asuka. Thank you."

She blinked to the casual words transmitted so suddenly through her radio, her tight grip on the steel handles easing along with the heavy bad feeling which soon flooded her so violently, managing to submerge and drown her mind far easily than the densest of LCL liquids.

_'That's it...?'_

Asuka bit her lower lip, frown deepening into a scowl.

_'That can't be it.'_ Her mind immediately began analyzing the meaning behind the unexpected declaration, _'This synchronizing session was even shorter than the last one...'_

Yet nothing but deafening silence answered her musings now, the confined space she was sitting in suddenly appearing much smaller than ever before, the metal beneath her cold even through her suit and the walls of the chamber as if closing in on her slowly but surely.

And the more she let herself sink into the abyss of uncertainty, the more she inevitably reached the one conclusion she was trying to deny.

_'I did poorly... again?'_

Swallowing harshly to her deduction, Asuka clenched her jaw in bitter silence.

Wait...

Wait.

Let me try again.

_Please._

Shoulders tensing, the girl hanged her head low as her gaze fell to her knees, long, straight red hair cascading down her chest like orange waterfalls.

Yet, none of her desperate wishes formed into actual words.

She won't let them... she absolutely couldn't.

She couldn't bear to sound so pathetic. She couldn't allow herself to show weakness now, to draw further attention and put more emphasis on her own incompetence when she wasn't operating as she should.

As she _needed _to.

Inhaling deeply, Asuka buried her shame deep into her conscious to the very back of her mind, someplace where the sting of her failure would be far enough to not bother her so much, and with that also still serve as a harsh reminder of the goal she was striving for; that unnamed something which she lost, and was trying to achieve once again in order to perform as she knew she had to.

Finally letting go and placing her limp hands in her lap, she raised her head once more, steeling her expression as the gears of the tube began shifting, muffled metallic sounds echoing all around her as the pod she was occupying slowly began moving, signifying the end of her synchronization session and regrettably, matching her theory.

* * *

Blank-faced, Asuka stared at her own reflection projected in the mirror before her, the sound of running water from the restroom tap bouncing off the walls of the empty, ceramic chamber, making it seem falsely bigger than it acually was.

Exhaling to the sight, Her eyes scanned her own features; the fiery orange of her hair partially collected into the two red interface headsets pieces clipped onto her head as a fashionable accessory, the color of her strands amplified against the stark crimson of her suit and her skin somewhat appearing paler than ever before.

"Just what am I doing wrong?"

The question departed from her mouth through a low voice to hover in the air before her, barely audible against the already noisy space, and yet somehow echoing far too loudly for comfort.

As if guided by an unknown force of some kind, her right hand lifted up on its own, sending to connect with the surface of the mirror before her.

"I hate this." She spat through clenched teeth, sapphire blue gaze narrowing, "This stupid uncertainty... this pitiful state... this isn't like me at all."

But the more she talked, the more her shoulders lowered under the weight of desperation, of sadness and hopelessness to the troubled way she appeared before herself.

And Asuka only raised her other hand to soon connect with her own reflection as well, bringing her forehead to rest against the one of the girl presented before her.

"Why can I hardly even sync anymore...?"

Blue eyes falling shut, she remained like that for another moment in complete silence.

And once her mental search for answers proved a fruitless endeavor, the girl simply disconnected from herself, sending one hand to finally close the endless flow of water before her.

Stepping away from the sink, Asuka only released another labored breath into the air.

However, once she made her way around the door of the restroom and exited back into the corridor of the headquarters, her movement stopped abruptly, instincts flaring up at her as she nearly bumped into another human being, causing her to let out a loud shriek of surprise.

Fair features immediately turned hostile in response to the unexpected presence before her, and Asuka took a step back to calm herself from the near collision.

"What the hell —?!" She called, bringing one hand to rest on her chest in an attempt to calm the erratic beating of her heart.

But the boy remained silent before her, standing idly with both of his hands tucked neatly in his pockets, form relaxed and eyes set on her being.

"Where do you think you're heading to? This is the ladies room, are you blind?" She followed with another angry remark once her mind wrapped around the sheer absurdity of the situation.

And the moment she managed to calm herself enough, was the moment the young woman noticed the odd features of the person standing before her, her gaze focusing on his white hair, crimson red eyes and deathly-pale skin, a suspicious all-knowing grin plastered on his face and his outfit none other than her school uniform, meaning they both must be the same age.

"Who the hell are you supposed to be, anyway?" She shot the question at him, every word harsh and sharp as a dagger with intent to either slay or injure, and yet it seemed that the inquiry was effortlessly repelled and bounced off the white-haired boy as if he was acquired with an invisible shield, protecting both his body and his smug expression from her unexpected verbal attack.

Calm and smiling, he only stared at her for a long moment in silence, crimson red eyes scanning the young woman in front of him with interest.

"My name is Kaworu Nagisa, it's a pleasure to meet you, Asuka Langley Soryu; the Second Child."

Voice and tone both smooth as velvet, he answered her with almost no unique emotion behind his introduction other than sheer and unbreakable tranquility.

But the way her name rolled on his slick tongue so easily like that along with the suspicious amount of information he carried, somehow only managed to irk her further.

And deep, sapphire blue eyes simply narrowed in response.

"Hmph!" She scoffed with loud disdain, masking her accumulating annoyance through a falsely calmer tone this time as her lips curled up into a vicious grin,"I have nothing to say to a _pervert_."

Side stepping him in an instant, Asuka merely placed her gaze forward, beginning to stride away from the scene and the strange individual.

But before she managed to get far;

"What's a pervert?" She heard him calmly ask behind her, his voice still sounding as if he was inquiring her through his unnerving smirk.

Stopping in her tracks, she clenched both of her fists and turned back sharply towards him, one hand raised to point at him as her expression overcame with anger.

"Boys who go peeping into the ladies' room, obviously!" She shot back in response, her free hand placing at her hip, "What, you thought I didn't pick up on your obvious and creepy little attempt, there?!"

Unfazed by neither her yelling or accusations, Kaworu only tilted his head slightly to the side, his confident smile never leaving his face.

"I only followed after your voice." He explained, watching her closely, "You were the one talking, were you not?"

Hearing that, Asuka stepped forward in his direction once again, feeling the anger only pile up inside her to his blatant audacity.

"So, you were eavesdropping on me too! Unbelievable!" She exclaimed, coming into a harsh stop right before him, "You're not even supposed to be here, I can get someone to kick you out in a second!"

But his expression remained calm before her even in this close and lethal proximity, appearing only more interested by the fierce surge of emotions so clearly readable on her features like that.

"You're different than him." He said, crimson eyes studying her face up close.

Frown turning confused, the girl took a step back from his strange reaction and words.

"What the hell are you talking about, weirdo?" She demanded, lowering her hand back at her side.

Kaworu allowed himself another moment to silently observe the confusion as it now displayed on her expression, instead.

"You're different than Shinji Ikari, the Third Child." He pointed out, posture still relaxed before her, "He's more reserved, silent... while you're more aggressive and loud."

"Who are you calling aggressive and loud, huh?!" She retorted almost immediately, hands once again clenching into tight fists, "And how exactly do you know stupid Shinji? Did that idiot bring you here?"

Kaworu took one step closer to her, closing the space she created.

"You want to know, don't you?" He asked, lowering his head and maintaining her fierce eye contact, "How to move your Eva."

Piercing crimson red stared right into her sapphire blue in a way that made her feel bare. Far too bare for her to handle at this point.

And she quickly turned on her heel, stepping away from that dangerous gaze and resuming her route down the empty corridor.

"What the hell do you know anyway?" She called through her escape, tensing her shoulders, "Shut up and get lost!"

Kaworu watched her step away for another moment, never moving from his spot.

"The Eva won't move unless you open your heart to it."

His odd assertion hovered in the air behind her, the words somehow managing to slow her steps down into a graduate and eventual stop.

And she only lingered in her place for another moment, standing with her back to him as the quiet descended over their exchange and surroundings.

"What are you talking about...?" The sentence left her lips through an unexpectedly quieter tone, fists still clenched at either of her sides as her gaze ventured aimlessly into the depth of the empty space before her, "How the hell am I supposed to open my heart to a puppet...?"

She heard movement behind her, his slow steps drawing closer and closer until ceasing somewhere not that far from her new spot.

"The Eva has a heart just like you." He answered simply, voice still far too calm for comfort, "Closing your heart to it, you will never be able to sync."

Hearing that, Asuka turned halfway back in his direction, leveling him with hard glare.

"Closing my heart?" She echoed with mockery, gaze narrowing as blue once again collided with red, "I haven't closed a damn thing."

Amused, Kaworu kept his silence, studying the ever so faint traces of interest which the girl worked so hard to conceal.

"You need to ask yourself that." He followed.

But his vague answer only prompted her to turn sharply in his way, yet again.

"I've had more than enough with your smug attitude and incomprehensible opinions!" She snapped, raising her chin before him, "I'm the pilot here, you don't know what you're talking about and yet you act as if you have all of the answers, you _still_ haven't answered me on who you really are —"

But her outburst was abruptly cut by a sudden realization, cutting through her like a knife to the stomach, and the girl fell into a sudden silence as her eyes widened with worry.

_'Oh, I get it...'_ She mused, disgust now clear on her face to the now obvious assumption.

And she only let out a mocking breath before him, a bitter smile finding its way through her features.

"...You're my damn replacement, huh." She shot at him, shaking her head with disbelief.

_'To think they'd give up on me so easily like that.'_

Kaworu kept his gaze on her, watching the emotions shifting so easily before him, projected on her expression like a bright colorful screen emitting so many vibrant shades of the human spirit.

"Are you sad?" His sudden casual question tore her from her thoughts, forcing her gaze to focus once more, "To hear of it?"

Somehow, with the unneeded addition of his aggravating words, Asuka felt her throat close up, her eyes getting misty as she lowered her head slightly, orange bangs shielding her face away from his intrusive gaze.

Is this really how it ends?

Is this really how_ she_ would let it end?

"Don't make me laugh, you damn bastard." She hissed, lifting her head back to him as the sapphire blue of her eyes gleamed with sheer and almost murderous anger, "Nobody but me can pilot Eva Unit-02, you got that?!"

With her stern declaration still echoing against the walls of the closed space they were both occupying, Asuka turned on her heel one last time with a swift movement, her long strands of hair slapping Kaworu's face and forcing him to raise one hand in a too late of an attempt to shield himself from the strike. With his smirk still embedded in his features, he watched her storm away from him, ending their odd exchange once and for all.

"And don't you ever forget that, either!"

He heard her call lastly just as she took the next turn to her left, the strong red of her being vanishing behind the nearest wall as she stormed to her next destination, whatever that may be.

Now left alone, The boy simply released an amused breath to himself as he took in the entire exchange, his hands sliding back into the comfortable pockets of his dark-colored pants.

"The human heart is indeed, as fragile as glass." The disguised Angel noted to himself.

* * *

_Eva Unit-02's signal - Nominal._

_VA Links - Nominal._

_Fusion - Nominal._

_Start-up is proceeding._

The walls of the cockpit she was sitting in lit up in their familiar fashion, signifying the successful synchronization between the Eva and its pilot, granting the girl with control over her unit in order to battle the next threat which so suddenly arrived.

But as much as Asuka wanted to focus her attention on her current duty, the girl found her own mind unfortunately troubled by her latest interaction, the thoughts which were already piling up before now stacked thick, burdened by even more questions with none to answer them.

Breathing deeply, her gaze fell to her firm grip on the steel handles.

_"The Eva won't move unless you open your heart to it."_

She clicked her tongue as Kaworu's calm voice involuntary surfaced in her head.

_'Why does a weapon need a heart, anyway?'_ She mused, blue gaze narrowing to the unpleasant memory, _'It'll only get in the way.'_

She kept her silence as the low humming of machinery engulfed her, buzzing in a repeating, unchanging rhythm that she was already familiar with, and yet somehow never truly noticed before. Listening to its almost lulling sounds, like a song sung to her from a motherly figure attempting to soothe her occupied mind back into order, the girl only exhaled her labored breath.

And with that, she had finally made up her mind.

_'You're my puppet.'_ Asuka determined, resolving to discard the words of the odd boy she met only hours prior,_ 'I don't care how you feel... just don't defy my orders.'_

"Asuka, are you okay...?"

Misato's voice forced her from her deep thinking, causing the young woman to straighten up in her seat with surprise, blue eyes darting to the monitor on which the Major's figure displayed before her.

And glaring at that familiar face for a long moment without answering, she only clenched her jaw.

_'More importantly...'_

"Perfectly fine!" Asuka claimed with annoyance, turning away from the interaction, "I'm ready to go."

Once Misato ended their shared communication, red-clad fingers tightened around her steel controls, and she inched forward in her seat, frown lowering into a deep scowl.

"I'm the only one who can pilot Eva Unit-02."


End file.
